SEOUL, April 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - North Korea said that foreign elite runners had arrived to take part in Sunday's first Pyongyang Marathon for six years, but did not immediately confirm the race had taken place.

The marathon, which was due to have been run on Sunday, is part of celebrations marking the birth of North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung in 1912.

"Marathoners of China, Romania, Morocco and Ethiopia arrived here on April 3 and 5 by air to attend the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Sunday, without giving any details of the race or any results.

The marathon is the largest international sporting event in the reclusive country.

The race offers a rare opportunity for visitors to run through the streets of the tightly controlled capital.

Images posted on the Instagram account of Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours which organises trips for foreign amateur runners to participate, showed Pyongyang citizens gathering to watch.

"A few pics of today's Pyongyang Marathon in North Korea. Amazing event and a race like no other," Cockerell wrote. 

One image showed foreign participants taking pictures on phones around the Kim Il Sung Stadium filled with North Korean spectators. 

The last edition of the Pyongyang Marathon was held in 2019 before the pandemic, during which the nuclear-armed state sealed its borders in an effort to contain the virus.

Foreign participants are currently in the capital on a six-day trip organised by Koryo Tours, the Beijing-based travel agency which describes itself as the exclusive travel partner of the marathon.

"The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals," the Beijing-based firm said on its website. 

"An experience truly like no other."

The marathon is listed on the website of global governing body World Athletics.

In 2019, around 950 Westerners took part in the race, up from roughly 450 the previous year. About 180 foreigners had been expected to participate this year.